Homesick
by Ara Lenn
Summary: Dark secrets from Sparta's past are uncovered when a beautiful stranger arrives searching for her family. Lieutenant Lonnie Jamison discovers that helping her could get him killed. At the least, he could lose his heart.
1. Homesick Part I

"Homesick" –Part I

Dedicated to the memory of Hugh O'Connor

(April 7, 1962-March 28, 1995)

It was a slow day at the Sparta Police Department. Lieutenant Lonnie Jamison was leaning on the front desk, looking through some papers, though he wasn't really paying attention to them. Instead, he was thinking of how unbearable summer in the station used to be before the air conditioning was installed. Even as he was thinking this, the front door opened, and a blast of warm air hit his face. He looked up instinctively, but his eyes were met with an unexpected sight. It was not one of his fellow officers as he had supposed, but an unfamiliar and stunningly beautiful woman. She could have been a model or an actress.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" Lonnie asked.

"Ooh, I hope so," she said somewhat suggestively as she looked him over. "I'm Detective Crystal Collins, Chicago PD."

She showed him her badge.

"What business does the Chicago PD have all the way down here in Sparta, Mississippi?" Lonnie asked.

"Actually, I'm here on unofficial business," Crystal replied, "personal business. I came here to find my biological parents. It wouldn't be of concern to the police, but last night I received an anonymous phone call telling me to give up my search and go home. Now, Lieutenant, can you tell me why someone would want to prevent me from finding my parents?"

"No, Ma'am, I can't," Lonnie replied, "unless your parents just don't want to be found."

"That's definitely a possibility," said Crystal, "but I need to know the truth regardless. That phone call only made more anxious to do so."

"Did you receive any specific threats in that phone call?" Lonnie asked.

"No," she said, "but the guy sure sounded threatening, or at least he was trying to sound threatening."

"Twelve o'clock," called Sergeant Parker Williams.

"You wanna' discuss this over lunch?" Lonnie asked.

Crystal's face brightened, and she flashed him a brilliant smile.

"I'd love to," she said. "I could go for some good southern cooking."

"How does barbecue sound?" Lonnie asked.

"Sounds great," she said. "I've been mostly living off the vending machine for the past day or so."

Crystal left her car at the station and rode with Lonnie. A few minutes later, Captain Bubba Skinner walked in the door of the police station.

"Whose car is that parked out front?" he asked.

"It must belong to that gorgeous woman that was just in here," said Parker. "She left with Lonnie for lunch."

"I didn't know Lonnie was seeing anybody," said Bubba.

"Oh, he's not," said Parker, "at least, not that I know of. This woman was from out of town, said she was a detective from Chicago."

"Chicago? That's a long way from Sparta." Bubba shrugged. "Well, come on, Parker, let's get something to eat."

"Sure thing, Bubba," said Parker.

The two men left to pick up something from the Magnolia Café. Meanwhile, Lonnie and Crystal had gone to Fat Eddy's barbecue place and were seated at an outside table.

"Do you know anything at all about your parents?" Lonnie asked.

"Just that they were from Sparta," Crystal replied. "I was adopted illegally, so there are no records whatsoever. My adopted parents didn't even deal with my real parents, and I can't find any doctor that saw me when I was a baby. I know this isn't much to go on, but that phone call gave me some hope. Somebody here knows who I am. If I can just find that somebody, I may find the answers I'm looking for."

"I'll help you in any way I can," said Lonnie.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Crystal. "That means a lot. It's nice just to know that I'm not entirely alone in this."

The food arrived then, and Crystal eagerly dug in.

"Mm, this is good," she said. "Maybe my stay in Sparta will help me get rid of my awful eating habits."

"I should hope so," said Lonnie. "I don't imagine there's much nourishment in the vending machine."

"True," she said, "although, occasionally one can find fruit snacks with vitamin C."

Lonnie laughed, but then he heard Bubba's voice coming over the radio.

"Yeah, Bubba, I hear you," he said.

"Hey Lonnie, sorry to interrupt lunch," said Bubba, "but we just got a call about a break-in and homicide at the Heart of Sparta Motel."

"I knew all this quiet was too good to be true," said Lonnie. "I'm on my way."

"Did he say Heart of Sparta?" asked Crystal. "I'm staying there."

Lonnie raised his eyebrows.

"You could find a lot nicer place to stay than that," he said.

"That's good to know," said Crystal.

The two hurried back to Lonnie's car and headed over to the motel. Crystal was hardly surprised to find that her room was the one that had been broken into. What did surprise her was that an elderly black man was lying dead on the floor by the bed.

"His name is Melvin Harris," said Bubba. "He lives alone down in the bottom."

"Any idea what he was doing in my room?" asked Crystal.

"No, Ma'am," said Bubba. "That's the strangest thing about this. The manager says he saw two white guys running away from the scene, but he could only give me a vague description, and he didn't see any car at all."

Crystal looked through her things and found that nothing was missing, though it was obvious someone had been looking for something.

"They wanted to know if I had any information," she said.

Lonnie filled in Bubba, Parker, and Sergeant Dee Shepherd concerning Crystal's search and the phone call she had received the night before.

"Well, Detective," said Bubba, "if I were you, I would consider moving out of this motel. This isn't the first time we've had trouble here."

"Maybe you could suggest somewhere better?" said Crystal. "I could be here in Sparta as long as a month. "

"If you like, you can come and stay with me," said Dee. "I have a guest bedroom, so there's plenty of room for you, and it would save you from having to pay a huge bill."

"Are you sure it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience?" asked Crystal.

"I'd be glad for the company," said Dee.

"Thanks, Sergeant. What they say about southern hospitality must be true."

Crystal gathered up her things and rode with Dee, first to the station to get Crystal's car, then to Dee's house. Crystal was glad to have a comfortable place to stay, but as soon as she got settled in she felt restless again, so it was a nice surprise when Lonnie stopped by to see her later that afternoon.

"Did you find out anything?" she asked him.

"No, not yet, but I had an idea," said Lonnie. "I haven't found anything linking Melvin Harris to you, but I know somebody who might be able to shed some light on it for us. I thought you'd want to ride with me to see him."

Lonnie took Crystal to see Sheriff Bill Gillespie. No one knew Sparta like Gillespie did, except maybe Parker Williams, but Parker wouldn't know anything about old history. Lonnie had phoned a short while ago, and Bill had told him to come right over. The Sheriff was always glad to see the men and women who had served under him when he was Chief of Police; he had been like a father to many of them.

When they got to the Sheriff's office, Lonnie introduced Crystal to him, and she filled the Sheriff in on the details of her story.

"I do know a Melvin Harris," Bill said. "Years ago, he worked as a gardener for the Huntington family. I remember that because he was the only servant of theirs who didn't disappear from Sparta when they left. The Huntingtons were the wealthiest family in Sparta back then, but one day they up and moved, and nobody knows where they went or why. Now, I wouldn't get my hopes too high, Ms. Collins, but it's just possible that those people headed up north when they left here. They did have four lovely daughters, all blonde."

Crystal thanked him for the information and said she would look into it right away.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," said Bill. "And if there's anything else I can do, don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Thank you," she said again. "I really appreciate everything you all have done for me. I've only been here a few days, and already I've been given so much help and hospitality by the officers. It's something I'm not used to back home."

Back in the car with Lonnie, Crystal inquired further about the Huntington estate.

"It's up by Purvis Lake," Lonnie told her.

Lonnie was still on duty, so he had to get back to the station after their visit to the Sheriff. Crystal asked him to drop her by the library on his way.

"Do you want me to come back later?" he asked.

"No, thank you," she replied. "I'll be fine."

Crystal spent the rest of the day researching the Huntington family. She didn't find a lot of information that was helpful –the articles about them mainly concerned social functions and charity work –but she was able to see pictures of the family. Just as Gillespie had said, there were four blonde daughters: Charlotte, Rachel, Marian, and Juliette. Crystal was afraid to draw any conclusions concerning their facial features, for she feared that her mind might play tricks on her.

That night she couldn't get to sleep. She kept running over in her mind all the events of the day, all the information that she had learned and the pictures she had seen. She tossed and turned until she was too exhausted to stay awake any longer, and in the morning she slept through the time that she would normally have taken her morning run. She got up and ate a late breakfast, then she put on her running clothes and took off in a random direction. She didn't even pay attention to where she was going, but eventually she ended up at the police station, as if her subconscious had led here there. Tired and sweaty, she went inside the station. She shivered at the rush of cold air, and she stood still for a moment while her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. Parker greeted her at the front desk.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Collins," he said cheerily. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually, some water would be nice," she replied.

"Sure thing," said Parker. "Come on back here and have a seat."

Crystal sat down at an empty desk while Parker went to get her some water. Bubba Skinner was sitting at the next desk.

"Hey, Bubba," said Crystal. "Can I call you Bubba?"

"Most people do," he said.

"You have such a cozy police department here," said Crystal. "It's kind of nice."

Parker came back with a glass of water for her and sat down on the edge of the

desk.

"You look like you've been out jogging," he said.

"I have," she said. "I generally go in the mornings, but I overslept today."

"Well, if you get up tomorrow, you should go over to Legion Park," said Parker. "It's a real nice place for jogging."

Parker had a grin on his face as he said this. Bubba looked at him and shook his head.

"I may just do that," said Crystal.

During this conversation, Chief Hampton Forbes came out of his office and introduced himself.

"Lieutenant Jamison filled me in on your situation yesterday," said the Chief. "I believe he's out working on the case right now."

"I had no idea that things would get so messy," said Crystal. "It seems like trouble follows me wherever I go."

"Trouble seems to follow a lot of people to Sparta," said the Chief.

"Has Lonnie been gone long?" Crystal asked.

"Since this morning," said Chief Forbes. "I expect him back any time."

As if summoned, Lonnie Jamison walked in the front door.

"There you are," he said to Crystal. "I tried to get in touch with you this morning."

"Sorry about that," said Crystal. "You have news?"

"Yeah, I got a search warrant for Harris's place, and I thought you'd want to go with me to take a look around, but since I couldn't find you, I went ahead anyway. Looks like somebody was looking for something, but there's no way to tell whether they found it or not, since there are no close relatives or friends to say. There was one witness –she says she saw two white guys go in, but they didn't appear to be carrying anything when they came out."

Crystal nodded. She didn't need to state the obvious, that she wanted to know what those guys were looking for. Whatever it was, they hadn't found it in her hotel room, and they apparently hadn't found it at Melvin Harris's place either.

"I'm going to do a search, see if I can find any of the other servants who worked at the Huntington estate," said Lonnie. "If Harris knew something, maybe they know something too, if I can just find them."

"You're an angel, Lonnie," said Crystal.

"Just doing my job," he said.

"Well, I guess I'll get going now," said Crystal. "I need to get back and get a shower, change clothes, but I'll see you around."

She touched his arm before turning to go. Parker was grinning again when Lonnie turned back around, but Lonnie chose to ignore it. Bubba just sat shaking his head.

Parker's scheme worked out even more perfectly than he could have planned. Crystal took his advice the following morning and went to Legion Park to run, and she nearly ran headlong into Lonnie on the footbridge.

"You're a runner, too, huh?" she said.

"Yeah. I help coach the track team over at the high school sometimes."

"Parker suggested this place to me yesterday," said Crystal. "He was right; it's nice."

"This is a favorite place of his," said Lonnie. "I like it pretty well myself."

"Well, maybe I can run with you, then," said Crystal, "that is, unless you're afraid a girl can't keep up with you."

"Somehow I don't think that would be a problem," said Lonnie. "C'mon, let's see what you can do."

The two ran side by side until they were nearly out of breath, then they stopped for some bottled water.

"So, have you checked out the estate yet?" Lonnie asked.

"Not yet," said Crystal. "I've been doing some more research, trying to find out where the Huntingtons went when they left here. Not having much luck, though."

"Same here," said Lonnie. "It's like the whole household just disappeared."

"Yes, it is," said Crystal. "So the estate is near a lake?"

Lonnie nodded.

"That sounds nice today," said Crystal. "It's so hot here in the south!"

"Well, if you want, we could go out there on Saturday, look at the estate, maybe go for a swim."

"I'd like that," she said. "It's a date."

The morning felt somewhat surreal to Lonnie as he drove to Dee's house to pick up Crystal for their day at the lake. Crystal Collins had whipped into his life like a whirlwind, suddenly and powerfully, and he did not know what devastation might be left when she was gone. In a matter of a few hours, she had gained a place in both his professional and his personal life. He barely knew her, had only just met her, and here he was on the way to his second date with her –if date was what it was. Like their lunch together on the day she had come to the station, this was some strange mixture of work and pleasure. Crystal herself hadn't come to Sparta to work, but she had nevertheless put the Sparta police department to work for her, and through no fault of her own. She couldn't have known that her natural and innocent pursuit of her roots would open up a web of secrets and violence.

Crystal was sitting at the kitchen table while she waited for him, looking over a disturbing piece of correspondence. That morning she had gone outside and found an envelope on the doorstep with her name on it. Inside the envelope was an anonymous typewritten note, warning her that if she continued to snoop around, she would end up like Melvin Harris.

"Don't they know that they're only fueling my suspicion and encouraging me to stay?" she said aloud. "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I scare easily. I'm a cop, for heaven's sake."

When she heard the knock on the door, she put the note back in the envelope and shoved it into her bag. She didn't intend to tell Lonnie about it, at least not yet. She was not overly worried –she dealt with threats on a regular basis in Chicago –and she didn't want to put a damper on their day. She pushed the threatening note to the back of her mind and greeted Lonnie at the door with a cheery smile. Lonnie, of course, had no notion that she had received threats, but his instincts were alert, and when they arrived at the estate, he warned Crystal to be careful.

"Somebody's obviously been keeping an eye on things for the Huntingtons," he said. "They could be watching us right now."

Crystal pulled her gun out of her bag and clipped it to her shorts.

"Shall we go in?" she said.

"This is still private property, you know," said Lonnie.

"But nobody's been here in ages, right?"

Inside the house they found all the furniture still in place, covered in old dusty sheets. It looked as if the family had taken almost nothing with them when they left. There were expensive things there –crystal chandeliers, antique chairs, Tiffany lamps. There were still some clothes in the closets, and some personal effects in the bathrooms.

"They definitely left in a hurry," said Crystal. "What could have been so shameful that they had to abandon their home, and cover their tracks so meticulously?"

Lonnie had no answer for her, so he merely shook his head.

"I don't think they ever had any intention of coming back here," said Crystal, "despite all they left behind."

"Like I said, they must have been keeping any eye on the place over the years," said Lonnie. "If not, I doubt this stuff would still be here."

Crystal left the house with even more questions in her mind than when she had started. It was a relief to her to be able to relax and have a little fun at the lake. She hadn't known Lonnie long, but she enjoyed his company, and there was nothing like a swim on a hot day.

"So a handsome man like you doesn't have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"I guess you could say I haven't had much luck with women," Lonnie replied.

"Are the women in this town blind?"

Lonnie smiled modestly.

"What about you?" he asked. "You must have men in Chicago that are anxious for you to get back there."

"Well, I guess there is one," said Crystal, "but I'm sure he's amusing himself just fine without me. My partner Peter and I have been involved on and off for a while, but we were never anything officially. We have a no-commitment arrangement. Boy, that sounds awful when you say it out loud. It just always seemed to make sense. He's not a one-woman type of guy, and when I met him, I'd just come out of a horrible relationship. And being a cop, our lives are always in danger. Any one of us could die tomorrow."

"That's true," said Lonnie, "but if you might die tomorrow, don't you think you should make the most of what you have now?"

"You're probably right," said Crystal, "but to be honest, I don't know if I have the guts to take that kind of risk."

"Do you care for this guy?" Lonnie asked.

"Sure I do," Crystal replied. "He's my partner. I'm sure you care for every officer you work with; you guys are like a family. It's the same thing with him and me. I'm not in love with him, if that's what you mean. But if I stopped seeing him altogether, and went to look for somebody serious, then it would open up a new set of problems in my life. With him, I know what to expect."

Lonnie wondered what she was so afraid of. He assumed her fear had something to do with that "horrible relationship" she had mentioned, but he didn't want to pry too much. He was more or less a stranger to her, and before long, she would be headed back to Chicago, and he would never see her again, so he figured her personal life really wasn't his business. He did think it tragic, however, that someone so beautiful and seemingly so confident should be so afraid of love.

When they were done swimming, they headed for the bathrooms to shower and change into dry clothes. Crystal was lost in thought concerning what they had just discussed, so she was especially surprised when she heard the sound of guns being cocked behind them; she hadn't even heard anyone approaching. Lonnie, on the other hand, had heard them but hadn't thought anything of it, since it wasn't unusual for people to be at the lake on a hot summer's day.

"Didn't you get my note, Ms. Collins?" said a man's voice.

It was the voice that Crystal had heard on the phone at the motel, she was sure of it. The man walked around to stand in front of them, while his partner remained behind them.

"Yeah, I got it," Crystal said. "You didn't really think I'd take that seriously, did you?"

"I thought I'd give you a chance," he said. "In fact, I've given you two chances. I've been very generous."

He came closer, pointing the gun in her face.

"You are a pretty thing," he said. "You look like your mama."

"You know my mother?" Crystal asked. "Is she alive?"

"Whether she is or not," he said, "it won't do you any good. It's a shame to waste this, though. What do you say we have a little fun before I kill you?"

He touched her cheek, and she jerked her face away.

"I think I'll enjoy this," he said.

Lonnie wanted to protect her, but he felt helpless himself with two guns pointed at him.

"Why should you get to have all the fun?" said the second man.

"I'm not opposed to sharing," said the first, "but I called it. You just take Ms. Collins' friend behind those trees there and shoot him."

"No!" Crystal protested. "This is between you and me; leave him out of it."

He laughed at her in response.

"He's mixed up in this as much as you are now," he said.

The man grabbed Crystal and placed the barrel of the gun against her head. She watched as Lonnie was led away, then her captor turned her around and dragged her in the opposite direction. She heard a gunshot behind her a few moments later. The horror she felt gave her a sudden rush of adrenaline, and she made a sharp movement that sent both her and her captor to the ground. They struggled over the gun for what seemed like an eternity. Out of the corner of her eye, Crystal saw someone approaching, but she was unable to see who it was because her suspect somehow managed to get control of the gun and hit her hard in the side of the head with it. She blacked out, and when she came to, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. Lonnie was sitting in a chair next to her.

"I thought you were dead," she whispered.

"Everything's all right now," he said.

Lonnie told her how he had managed to wrest the gun away from his captor, a shot being fired in the process which had hit the man in the arm, how he had run out to help Crystal and had been forced to shoot and kill the man who had attacked her. Now one man was dead, and another had gotten away, since Lonnie had been preoccupied with saving Crystal's life.

"I should have told you about the note," Crystal said. "I didn't think it was a big deal this morning, but that was obviously a bad call. I put your life in danger, and now they may be hunting you just as much as me. I almost wish, for your sake, that I had never come here."

"You said yourself that a cop is always in danger," said Lonnie. "It's just another day on the job."

"I know I said that, but if anything had happened to you, I never would have forgiven myself," said Crystal. "You put me to shame, Lonnie Jamison, in more ways than one. I almost got you killed today, and here you are being noble, trying to make me feel better. We would have both died today if you weren't such a darn good cop."

The doctor came back with medication for her, and Lonnie left the two of them alone. Sheriff Gillespie was waiting outside the room for him and handed him a folder containing information on the two suspects. Their names were Robert Zafer and Mike Reese.

"This is them," said Lonnie.

"Both men work for Huntington security," said Bill. "Apparently, the family has been keeping an eye on things all these years."

"Looks that way," said Lonnie. "They must have something to hide."

Lonnie went back in and showed Crystal the information he had gotten.

"If those men work for the Huntingtons, and this guy, this Robert Zafer, knows my mother," said Crystal, "then my mother must be one of the Huntington daughters."

Lonnie did a see a resemblance in her to the women in the pictures he had seen, but he didn't want to say so since they didn't have any definite proof.

"Too bad we don't know where they are," said Lonnie. "If you could get a dna test done, you'd know for sure."

"Lonnie, you're brilliant," said Crystal. "We have to go back to the estate."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Lonnie.

"But if I could get a hairbrush or something out of the house, maybe I could get that dna test," Crystal said.

"Even if you could get something from the house, how would you know which daughter it belonged to?" Lonnie asked.

"I guess you're right."

She let the matter drop, but she returned to the estate on her own that night anyway. To her chagrin, all the personal effects she had seen earlier were now gone. Feeling a great deal of anxiety, she returned to Dee's house and called her partner in Chicago.

"I just needed to talk," she said. "This thing's got me really worked up."

"Even when you do take some time off, you can't get a break," he said.

"Tell me about it," said Crystal. "It's been an intense week."

"Do you want me to come down there?" Peter asked.

"What's the matter –not enough to do in Chicago?"

"I just thought you could use your partner," he said.

"No, thank you," said Crystal. "I'm fine here. Sparta has an excellent police department. They've given me a place to stay, helped me with my search, not to mention that Lonnie Jamison saved my life today."

"Lonnie, is it? So you've got a new partner. That's why you don't need me."

"I guess you could say that," Crystal replied. "He's definitely watching my back."

"No doubt," said Peter.

"It's not like that," said Crystal. "Lonnie is much too sweet and too pure to be drawn into my sick world of shallow relationships. We're just friends."

"Okay, Crys, whatever you say. Just keep me posted, okay?"

"Sure, Peter."

Despite the new information and renewed optimism, two weeks went by with no further developments. Reese had seemed to disappear entirely, and the police had no leads. The Huntington family was untouchable. Crystal was understandably frustrated and agitated at the lack of progress, but she was always calmed by Lonnie's presence. She went running with him every morning, and she often ate lunch or dinner with him, and sometimes with both him and the other officers. There had been an immediate physical attraction between the two of them, but as they spent more time together, their feelings developed into genuine respect and admiration, and they became good friends. Crystal felt something with him that she had seldom felt before –the desire to be just a woman, the freedom to be vulnerable rather than tough. It was a nice feeling, but it was also disconcerting, being so unusual and so unexpected for her. She was not used to being disarmed.

They both felt a bit unsteadied, but both hid it well. Lonnie was known for his calm demeanor, but those who knew him best could recognize the signs of emotional tumult in him. He was waiting for Crystal in the town square one day at noon when he happened to run into Sheriff Gillespie. Bill inquired after Ms. Collins.

"She's doing just fine," said Lonnie. "I think this time away from the big city is doing her good."

"Good. And how are you?"

"Doing just fine too," said Lonnie.

"Well, just be careful," said Bill. "A beautiful woman can be dangerous in more ways than one."

Lonnie knew exactly what he meant. This wasn't the first time that Lonnie Jamison had found himself falling for a beautiful blonde woman who had come to town bringing trouble with her. The difference this time was that the woman was responsive to him. He didn't take any flirtation on her part seriously, though, given what Crystal had said about her partner in Chicago. She obviously had a different set of rules for relationships. And any day now, she would be headed back home, and this would all be over. For these reasons, Lonnie treated her only as a friend. It was the same old story for him; he always seemed to have more women as friends than actual girlfriends.

Lonnie had full respect for Crystal's ability as a cop, but he still felt it his responsibility to protect her while she was in Sparta. She refused to have a guard put on her, but he had her watched as much as he could without arousing her suspicion. After the incident at the lake, he had asked for an extra patrol on the area, and that was how he discovered that Crystal visited the Huntington estate when she was alone. He confronted her about it one day at the station.

"How often have you been going to the Huntington estate?" he asked.

"How did you know I was there?" Crystal returned.

At his desk, Parker lowered his eyes and pretended not to hear them; he was the one who had told Lonnie about her being at the estate.

"That house may be my only connection to my family," said Crystal. "I just like to be there."

"Well it could be dangerous," said Lonnie.

"I'm a big girl," said Crystal. "Don't forget that I'm a cop too."

"And you're out of your jurisdiction," said Lonnie. "I'm telling you not to go back there."

Parker and Bubba both looked up cautiously, but Crystal did not protest further. She found something irresistible in Lonnie's authoritative tone, so she merely smiled and held up her hands. She didn't listen to him, though. One day she had a hunch, and she looked carefully over all the furniture and decorative objects in the house until she found what she was looking for in one of the silk roses in a vase –it was a tiny camera.

"Game's up," she said aloud. "I don't know why you're hiding, unless you're scared."

Crystal reported her findings to Lonnie. He wasn't happy that she had ignored his warnings, or that she had gone on a search of private property without a search warrant. The discovery of the camera did little to help the case. There was certainly nothing criminal about having a security system installed in one's own home, however odd the circumstances might be.

"Now will you listen to me and stay away from that place?" Lonnie asked. "You're lucky they haven't made a target out of you while you were there."

Lonnie didn't know how ironic his own words were. It was on the morning directly following that Crystal's enemies decided to answer her challenge. She was running with Lonnie, when out of the stillness there came the sound of a gunshot, and she felt a sharp stinging in her leg as she tumbled face forward to the ground. She rolled over onto her back, raised up on her elbows, and looked down. Her thigh was bleeding profusely and was painful, but she gritted her teeth and made a move to stand up. Lonnie held out his hand and shook his head, and she was in too much pain to argue. He took off his shirt and tied it around her leg, then he picked her up and carried her to his car. He called the station as he drove her to the hospital, and the police hurried to the scene, but of course there was very little there to be found. No one had seen the shooter, and he hadn't left anything behind.

Crystal had to go into surgery to have the bullet removed from her leg. Lonnie didn't want to leave her, but he needed to return home for a shower and a change of clothes. He got back to the hospital as soon as he could and waited for word on her condition. She came through the surgery just fine, but she was less than thrilled to be in the hospital again. During her stay there, the officers she had befriended stopped by to see her whenever they could; even the Chief came by a few times. While she lay idle in bed, she pondered the strangeness of her position. She wondered why the person who shot her had not killed her –was he trying to torture her, or was he just a bad shot? This was her second brush with death in less than a month, and though she was used to being close to death, this just felt too personal. At times it depressed her, but her negative thoughts alternated with more positive ones, such as the memory of Lonnie Jamison whipping off his shirt to help a damsel in distress. _He's so sexy when he's being protective_, she thought.

The time passed slowly for her, but finally she was allowed to leave the hospital. It was a relief to get out, but not as much of one as she would have hoped. Now instead of lying in the hospital bed, she found herself sitting around on Dee's couch most of the time, and when she did get up, she was forced to walk on crutches. Being stationary was not a favorite pastime of hers. One evening as she sat in her usual spot watching t.v., she thought of how much she wished that she could go out and play a game of pool with the guys, and go running with Lonnie in the morning, and a thousand other things that she usually took for granted.

"Crystal, I'm going out to the store," said Dee. "Anything I can get you?"

"No thanks, Dee."

"All right, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Dee left for the store, and Crystal continued to flip channels absentmindedly. A few minutes later, the phone rang. Crystal was startled at first, but she felt some hope that there might be something worthwhile on the other line, something to break this monotony.

"Ms. Collins?" said a male voice.

"Yes, this is Crystal Collins," she replied.

"I have something to say to you, Ms. Collins. I know you don't take too well to threats, so consider this a warning from a friend. Leave town now, while you still can."

"Who are you?" Crystal asked.

"I was a friend of your mama's," he said, "and I work for the family. There's nothing left for you here. Your parents are both dead."

"Why are you telling me this?" Crystal asked.

"Because I promised your mama that I would try and protect you if you should ever come looking for her."

"Well, you've done a real good job of that," said Crystal.

"You don't know what you're dealing with," he said. "You may think you've seen the worst of it, but these people are ruthless. If you don't leave now, there is nothing I can do for you."

"Wait," said Crystal. "Can you meet me somewhere?"

"I don't think you're listening to me, Ms. Collins. I am not willing to give my life for this."

"But my mother meant something to you, didn't she? Please, I just want to know something about my parents. You may be my only hope."

"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

"That's an odd question coming from you," said Crystal. "You know a lot more about me than I know about you. Look, just tell me what I want to know, and I'll leave town."

"All right, meet me at the falls," he said, "but don't even think of telling anyone where you're going, and make sure you're not being followed by any of these Sparta cops."

"You have my word," said Crystal, "but you'll have to give me some directions."

She wrote down the directions he gave her on a notepad by the phone and stuffed the piece of paper in her jeans pocket. With some difficulty, she made her way to her car, got in, and pulled out of the driveway. Once she was on the road, she realized that she had lost her directions. She figured she must have dropped the paper somewhere, but she didn't have time now to go back and look for it, so she relied on her memory to get her to the falls. Fortunately, that was enough. She parked her car and got out, and she moved towards the figure that she saw in the shadows. When she reached him, she discovered that he was a middle-aged man with graying hair and narrow eyes. He wore a blazer over his collared shirt; Crystal supposed he must be wearing a gun underneath. His name was Paul Farnell, though Crystal as yet had no way of knowing his identity.

"Let's make this quick, Ms. Collins," he said. "Ask your questions, but know that there are things I can't tell you."

"You can't, or you won't?"

"Let's not waste time," he said. "You want to know about your mama? I knew her well. I can see something of her in you."

"Which one was my mother?" Crystal asked.

"Juliette, the youngest," he replied.

"How did she die?"

"She fell ill in Africa," he said. "After she left Chicago, she went on a tour of third world countries. She used her money to help those less fortunate, especially children. She was a good woman, and though it was beyond her control, she always felt guilty for what happened to you and your daddy."

"What was she to you exactly?" Crystal asked.

"I was one of her bodyguards," he said. "My specific instructions were to keep her away from Sparta, and away from your daddy. Keeping her away from him wasn't necessary, though, since your daddy committed suicide shortly after Juliette's departure."

"Who was my father?" Crystal asked.

"Knowing that will do you more harm than good. The more you know, the more your life is in danger."

"They're already trying to kill me," said Crystal. "I don't think it can get much worse than that. Although, they could have killed me in the park that day, and they didn't. Why?"

"I'm the one who shot you," he said. "I did it to buy you some time, to give you a chance to live. But I can't do any more for you. Know that your parents didn't give you up of their own free will, and be content with that. The best thing for you to do now would be to get on the next plane out of Sparta and go home."

"Where is home?" Crystal replied. "I'm not sure I know anymore."

When Dee returned home from the store, she found the note that Crystal had dropped in the driveway. Dee figured that Lonnie would want to know about it, so she phoned him at home.

"Lieutenant, this is Dee. I thought you might want to know that Crystal left the house while I was out, and I think she was going to the falls."

"Why would she want to go there?" asked Lonnie.

"I don't know, but I found a note in the driveway with directions to the falls. Maybe she got a call while I was out."

"Thanks, Dee. I'd better get over there."

Lonnie hurried out to his car and picked up his radio.

"This is Lieutenant Jamison," he said. "Is anybody near the falls?"

"Yeah, Lonnie, this is Bubba. I'm almost there now."

"I think Crystal's gone to meet somebody there," said Lonnie. "Could be trouble."

"Okay, I'll check it out," said Bubba.

"I'll meet you there."

Bubba pulled up beside Crystal's car a few minutes later. He got out and looked around, and he saw two figures in the dark. He approached cautiously.

"I thought you didn't tell anybody you were coming here," said Farnell.

"I didn't, I swear," said Crystal.

Farnell pulled out his gun and pointed it at her.

"I thought you were trying to save my life," she said.

"If I go down, you're going down with me," he said. "I told you your chances were up."

Bubba pulled out his gun as he neared them.

"Stay back!" Farnell shouted. "I'll kill her!"

"C'mon, man," said Bubba. "Don't be stupid. Let her go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. She'll have to go with me. Now put your gun down and slide it, or I'll kill her right here."

Bubba did as he was told. He didn't feel that he had any other option.

"Good," said Farnell. "Now keep your hands up and stay put, or I'll kill you too. Let's go, Ms. Collins."

Crystal made a move forward, but one of her crutches seemed to strike a rock, and it fell to the ground.

"Sorry," she said. "This is rocky ground."

"Hurry up," said Farnell.

She knelt slowly as if to pick up the crutch, but with a lightning-quick movement, she rose again and used the crutch to knock Farnell's gun from his hand. The exertion upset her balance, and she tumbled to the ground, landing on her wounded leg and narrowly missing a fall into the rushing water. Bubba was as surprised as Farnell was at this development, but he reacted quickly, taking Farnell to the ground before the man could recover. He placed his knee on Farnell's back and pulled out his cuffs. With his suspect in custody, he looked to Crystal to see if she was all right. She was sitting up now, and she was holding her wounded leg, but despite the pain she felt, her face was beaming.

"What a rush," she said.

Bubba's face broke into a smile, and he joined her in relieved laughter. When Lonnie arrived, Bubba was getting his prisoner up off of the ground.

"Looks like you got everything under control," said Lonnie.

"Yeah, thanks to one Detective Collins," said Bubba. "I have to say, that's the first time I have ever seen a suspect taken out with a crutch."

He laughed again.

"You thought she was incapacitated, didn't you?" he said to Farnell.

Bubba led the prisoner away, and Lonnie rushed to help Crystal up off of the ground.

"We should get you to the hospital and get you checked out," he said.

"No, I need to be there when you question him," she said. "I promise I'll go to the hospital first thing tomorrow."

"Yeah, you will, 'cause I'm going to drive you myself," Lonnie said.

"All right, fine," said Crystal. "I should get frequent flyer miles for that place."

Crystal, Lonnie, Bubba, and Chief Forbes were all present at Farnell's questioning. Now that they were in the light, Crystal could see that the man looked weary. He told them his name, and his voice sounded tired, as if he were ready for it all to be over.

"Do you know a man by the name of Mike Reese?" Lonnie asked.

"You'll never find him," said Farnell. "He's probably dead now; he made too many mistakes."

"What kind of mistakes?"

"You saw for yourself, didn't you?" asked Farnell. "He failed to carry out his orders."

"What about stealing something from Melvin Harris's residence?" asked Lonnie. "Was that in his orders?"

"You won't find that either," said Farnell."

"You're not being very helpful," said Lonnie. "Answer the question."

"Yes, it was in his orders. But there again, he failed. He didn't find what he was looking for."

"What was he supposed to take?" asked Lonnie.

"It isn't there, so what does it matter?" Farnell relied.

"C'mon, Farnell," said Crystal. "If you loved my mother the way you say you did, then help me!"

Farnell sighed.

"All right," he said at last. "Just listen, and I'll tell you everything. It's all over for me anyway. Your daddy was a cop in this department. His name was John Mayfair. He and Juliette were crazy about each other, but he wasn't sophisticated enough for the Huntingtons. They forbade Juliette to see him, but she didn't listen, of course. When she got pregnant, they forced her to go with them to Chicago, and when you were born, they took you away from her. She tried to find you, but they made sure that was impossible. There was nothing left for her here, so she got on a plane to Africa, where she died a few years later.

"I told you that your father committed suicide, but that was a lie. I killed him myself and made it look like a suicide."

She had been holding her emotions in all night, but now she finally began to break down. There was a tremor in her voice when she asked Farnell what it was that Reese was supposed to have stolen.

"It was a box containing things of your mama's," he replied. "Journals, letters, photographs. She gave it to Melvin Harris before she left Sparta, but the family didn't know anything about it at the time. She told me about it on her deathbed. Melvin hadn't worked for the family long, and they thought he was harmless. He went and got another job, as a gravedigger, I think. As far as I know, Melvin buried the box somewhere on the estate. I never told anyone that; I figured it was better off staying buried."

Bubba took Farnell to a jail cell when the questioning was over, and Lonnie sat down next to Crystal to comfort her. Her tears ran down her face now. Lonnie put his arm around her.

"We'll find that box," he assured her.

In the coming days, the police were able to track down the Mayfair family, who had also moved from Sparta, not because they were forced to, but because there were just too many painful memories. They were not eager to relive the past, but they recognized the necessity, and they gave permission for John's body to be exhumed so that a dna test could be done. It was extremely difficult for Crystal to stand by and watch her father's grave being dug up, but there was a bittersweet surprise awaiting her –sitting atop the body inside the coffin was a metal box. Ironically, Melvin Harris had been the one to bury John Mayfair's body. Lonnie broke the lock on the box for her, and she sat down on the ground to look. She trembled as she opened it, and when she saw its contents, she broke into tears again. Sitting on top was a photograph of her mother and father together, wrapped in each other's arms and smiling as if they hadn't a care in the world. There were also letters in the box –letters from her father to her mother –and at the bottom of the pile sat her mother's journal. She waited until she was alone again to read these. It was clear that her parents had been in love, but most striking to her were the words that they both used concerning their child. It seemed they were eager to be parents. They had plans to elope, to live somewhere in the country and raise their child, and be happy. They were not concerned with material wealth or prestige; love was enough for them.

The dna test proved definitively that Crystal was the daughter of John Mayfair, and on the day that his body was reburied, she stood with her new-found family by the grave, and for the first time she felt a sense of belonging. Lonnie was there with her, to offer her moral support, and Sheriff Gillespie was there as well, for he had once been a friend and fellow officer of John.

Crystal spent as much time as she could with the Mayfairs during the remainder of her time in Sparta, but when her wounded leg was healed, she packed her things to return to Chicago. She had made a second home in Sparta, but she was now feeling a need to return to the life that was familiar to her. Lonnie drove her to the airport on the day of her departure, and he handed her the going-away present that he had bought her –it was a gold locket containing a picture of the two of them together.

"So you won't forget the good times we had in Sparta," he explained.

"I could never forget that," she said.

Saying good bye was more difficult than she had imagined it would be. She hesitated a moment, then she leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth before hurrying away to catch her plane. Lonnie was in a daze as he watched her go. That kiss had taken him by surprise, and its repercussions would remain with him for a long time to come.

To Be Continued…


	2. Homesick Part II

Homesick –Part II

Bubba was walking by himself in the chaos of the newly arrived carnival. Not far away, Officer Luke Everett was flirting with a group of girls, and somewhere on the premises, Sergeant Luann Corbin was present as well. They were there to make sure all ran smoothly; the carnival had been known to bring trouble to town with it. As Bubba approached the shooting gallery, he recognized the young woman working there. It was Jessica Cooke, who had lived in his neighborhood until she had graduated from high school two years earlier.

"Hey, Jessica," he said. "I thought you were off at school in Jackson."

"Hey, Bubba," she said. "I decided to take the summer semester off. I brought my fiancé Jonathan home to meet my folks."

"I heard you'd gotten engaged," said Bubba. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Bubba. We'll be getting married in the fall; I'll be sure and send you an invitation."

He noticed while she was talking that there was a cut on her lip, and he asked her what had happened.

"I had an accident this morning," she said. "I've been working as an assistant to Cameron Hawkes the magician, and I haven't quite gotten the hang of handling sharp knives. He does a knife-throwing act sometimes. You should come to the show tonight. He's going to catch a bullet with his teeth."

"Now that I would like to see," said Bubba. "Maybe I will come tonight."

"I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yeah, you be careful with those knives, you hear?"

Bubba said goodbye to her and went back to his car. It was the end of his shift, and he had stopped by the carnival for a few minutes to see how things were going. He went home and got a shower and changed clothes, and at 8:00 that evening he returned to the carnival and sat down on one of the wooden benches inside Cameron Hawkes's tent. Parker came and sat beside him a few minutes later, along with Lonnie, who didn't look too enthused to be there.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into coming here, Parker," said Lonnie.

"Don't you want to see a guy catch a bullet in his teeth?" asked Parker.

"You do know it's just an illusion, right?" asked Lonnie.

"Lonnie, you just take the fun out of everything," said Parker.

The lights dimmed, and the magician's four assistants stepped onto the stage. One of the girls came forward and introduced Cameron Hawkes to the crowd, and he proceeded to perform various tricks and illusions for the next hour, until he at last came to his grand finale –the bullet-catching trick. Jessica Cooke carried the cup that contained the bullet. She walked into the crowd with it, stopping in front of Parker and asking him to mark the bullet with an "x". He did so, and she returned to the stage. Then Hawkes's apprentice Neil Lucas took up the gun and seemed to load it. He took aim at the magician, and he fired.

There was a puff of smoke and a brief stunned silence, but the silence soon gave way to screams of terror, for Cameron Hawkes had fallen to the floor bleeding. Panic ensued, and there was utter chaos in the tent. Bubba and Parker tried to calm the crowd while Lonnie went to the stage. He checked the magician's pulse; Hawkes was dead. He looked up at Lucas, who was still holding the gun, a look of sheer horror on his face.

"I didn't load it," he said. "It wasn't supposed to be loaded."

The next morning, Lonnie was waiting at the Sparta airport for the plane that would bring Crystal Collins back to town. She looked for him as she stepped off the plane, and when she found him, she ran and threw her arms around him as if she hadn't seen him for a year, when in truth only a month had passed since she had been here last. Her spontaneity floored him as much now as it had the day she left, and he didn't know what to say or do. Crystal pulled back and looked at him with her brilliant smile. Her blue eyes were even brighter than he remembered.

"You're looking well," he said finally.

"Thanks," she said. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Let me get those for you."

He picked up her bags and carried them to his car, and Crystal followed him. She had come back to Sparta now because she was obligated to be here for the trial of Paul Farnell. That was her original reason, but since she had been away, the Huntington family had at last been tracked down, and they had offered to give Crystal the old estate, and money for its upkeep, in reparation for what she had suffered. She knew that it was a bribe, and she agreed to accept it, though she had no real intention of backing down. She hoped to beat them at their own game.

"When I get settled in and get a car, I'll come by the station," Crystal said as they drove to the estate. "I'd like to say hello to everybody."

"I'm sure they'll be glad to see you," said Lonnie. "Everybody's been asking about you."

"I guess Sparta has become a second home for me," said Crystal. "People miss me when I'm gone, and now I even have a house here. It's nice to be back."

"It's nice to have you back," said Lonnie. "You planning on staying a while?"

"I don't know," she said. "I suppose I'll decide after this trial is over."

"So how are things in Chicago?" Lonnie asked.

"Hectic as usual," she replied.

"How's your partner?"

"He's fine," Crystal said. "He's a bit peeved at me, though."

"Why is that?" Lonnie asked.

"Well, let's just say that I haven't quite been the same since my stay in Sparta," she said. "He was expecting the old me back, and she didn't show up. It really is good to be back here. I think I left a piece of myself here in Sparta."

"Maybe a piece of you belongs in Sparta," said Lonnie. "Maybe all of you belongs in Sparta."

"Maybe."

On the way to the station later, Crystal saw the carnival and decided to stop for cotton candy. While at the concession stand, she noticed that there was a significant police presence here. Everett was closest to her, so she took her cotton candy and went to speak with him.

"Hey, Luke. Is there some kind of trouble around here?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said. "The magician was killed last night during his act. We don't know yet whether it was an accident or a murder."

"Wow," she said. "That's one act I'm glad I missed."

She left him and strolled through the carnival, and a few minutes later she spotted Parker at the shooting gallery.

"Why don't you give this a shot, Ms. Crystal?" he asked. "No pun intended."

"Sure, why not? Hold this."

She gave him her cotton candy and took the gun from Jessica, but she when she looked at the girl, she felt that something was not quite right. Jessica did not look at her, but stood with her head down, her hair hanging over her face. Crystal asked her name.

"Nice to meet you," Crystal said.

Crystal took aim. She easily hit the targets, and when Jessica asked what she wanted as he prize, she purposely chose the furthest thing to reach. As Jessica reached for the stuffed animal, her hair fell away from her face to reveal an ugly bruise.

"Boyfriend do that?" Crystal asked.

"No," said Jessica. "It was an accident. I got bumped in the crowd last night. I thought those people were going to trample me."

"You sure about that?"

"It's a bruise, not a concussion," Jessica said. "Ask Parker; he was there."

"It was pretty chaotic, what with a man getting shot in front of everybody," Parker said.

"You must be a cop too," said Jessica.

"Yeah, I am," said Crystal. "Thanks, Jessica."

Crystal waited until she and Parker were a significant distance away from the stall before voicing her thoughts.

"Did you actually see her get hit last night?" she asked.

"No, but there was so much confusion…"

"You know her well?"

"Not real well," Parker replied. "Bubba does; she used to be his neighbor."

"Well, I have to get to the station," said Crystal. "I'll see you later, Parker. Make sure you keep an eye on that girl."

Crystal went back to her car and drove to the station. She was still finishing her cotton candy when she went in.

"What's that?" Lonnie asked. "Lunch?"

She laughed.

"Speaking of food," she said, "if you're free tonight, I'd love for you to come over to the estate. I'll cook dinner."

"I didn't know you were the cooking type," said Lonnie.

"I wasn't always a vending machine junkie," she said. "I know a few recipes."

"Well, I guess I'll find out for myself tonight," said Lonnie.

"Lieutenant Jamison, there's a call for you," said Dee.

Lonnie went to get the phone, and Crystal looked to where Bubba was standing by the filing cabinets.

"Bubba, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.

He walked over to the front desk.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Parker says you know a girl named Jessica who works at the carnival," Crystal said.

"Yeah, Jessica Cooke," said Bubba. "Is something wrong with her?"

"I think so. I just saw her, and she has a nasty bruise on her face. Do you know anything about her boyfriend?"

"Name's Jonathan Hollis," said Bubba. "They're engaged. Seems like a nice kid. You think he's been beating on her?"

"I have a hunch," she said. "She claims it happened last night in all the chaos of the shooting, but I don't buy it."

"Well, I was there," said Bubba, "but I didn't notice if she got hurt or not. Come to think of it, she had a cut on her lip yesterday that she said was an accident."

Crystal raised her eyebrows in response.

"Yeah, I'd better talk to her," said Bubba.

"Just be careful," Crystal said. "It's such a delicate situation when you have a case like this."

When Crystal left the station, she went to get groceries in preparation for that evening, and she spent the rest of the day cleaning up the inside of the house. She was exhausted when evening came, but she was looking forward to seeing Lonnie again, so she showered and changed clothes, and she got dinner started. She had decided to cook lasagna because it was one of the few dishes she felt comfortable making. It was almost done when Lonnie arrived.

"Something smells good," he said as he stepped inside.

"Thanks," said Crystal. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells."

She led him to the living room and offered him a glass of champagne.

"Champagne," he said. "You celebrating something?"

She shrugged.

"Housewarming, I guess," she said. "I'm going to go set the table. Just make yourself comfortable."

Lonnie sat down on the couch and took a sip of his champagne. Once again he found himself confused by the signals she was sending him. She had left him last time with a kiss, but she had not greeted him this time with the same. She had invited him here to dinner, but did that make this a date, or was she just being friendly? She had not said a great deal about the past month of her life, but she had seemed to hint earlier that she and her partner in Chicago were no longer romantically involved. She was already treating the estate as if it were her home, and yet, she said she had not decided to stay.

Crystal finished setting the table and went to the kitchen, and she carried everything to the dining room. Lonnie held her chair for her, and she sat down. She was still pleasantly surprised by his gentlemanliness. She waited for Lonnie to take his first bite, and she was relieved when her cooking met with his approval. As they ate, they talked about cases they had handled over the past month, but they finally came around to the one case that involved them both.

"I don't know what's going to happen, Lonnie," she said.

She hesitated slightly to talk about it. She had scoured the place for bugs and cameras earlier, and the Huntington family had closed their security office in Sparta, but she still felt a bit paranoid.

"The way I see it, there are two possibilities," she went on. "Either the Huntingtons really want to wash their hands of this whole affair, or they want to lull me into a false sense of security. I've been looking over my shoulder for the past month, thinking they would send assassins to Chicago, and here I am back at the scene of the crime, living in their house, near the lake where they almost killed us both. But I'm not afraid of them. I don't intend to just give in to them. We have Farnell, and that's something. We may not be able to take down their whole empire with only one player, but it's a thread unraveling for them. And I have my mother's things. Her journal tells something of the evil nature of the family. Could at least be terribly embarrassing for them, if not outright damning."

Lonnie reached over and took her hand in his.

"I'm sure your parents would be proud of you," he said.

"I like to think so," she replied.

They sat still looking into each other's eyes for a moment, but suddenly Crystal withdrew her hand and got up to clear the table.

"I almost forgot about dessert," she said.

The police had been over the scene of the carnival shooting several times, and they had found no evidence that Hawkes's death was intentional, but Lonnie's instincts told him that there was more to it than appeared on the surface. He said as much to Chief Forbes, and as Forbes had a great deal of respect for Lonnie's abilities, he told the Lieutenant to go ahead with a thorough investigation. Lonnie was convinced that the apprentice had never intended to kill Hawkes; Neil Lucas had no motive for that, and the young man was clearly distraught over the whole thing. Yet, there were no prints other than Lucas's on the gun; if someone else had loaded the gun, the person had been wearing gloves. It could have been anybody. He had all the carnival employees interviewed, but not one was found with a motive to kill Cameron Hawkes.

Meanwhile, Bubba spoke with Jessica Cooke concerning her bruise, and she swore to him that it was an accident. He had never known her to lie before, and her story did seem plausible, but Crystal was adamant that the girl was being abused. Bubba thought of speaking with Jonathan, but Crystal advised against it.

"If you make him angry, things could get worse," she said. "It's Jessica who has to make the decision."

And so both cases were stalled, until one day someone said something that seemed to have bearing in both. Lonnie and Parker were speaking to one of the magician's assistants, and she mentioned that Hawkes used to flirt with the girls, especially with Jessica.

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Lonnie asked.

"I don't know," said the girl. "I guess I just didn't think it was relevant. It was just harmless flirtation."

"According to you," said Lonnie. "Maybe somebody else saw it differently."

"You really think this is a murder?" she asked. "It was a dangerous trick; there was always the possibility that it could go wrong."

"Oh, it went wrong all right," said Lonnie.

Lonnie and Parker rounded up the rest of the girls and questioned them about Hawke's flirtation, but they said pretty much the same things. Jessica was the last girl to be interviewed. When Lonnie pointed out that she was seen as Hawkes's favorite, she just shrugged and laughed it off.

"He flirted with all the girls," she said. "It didn't mean anything."

"Maybe it meant something to your fiancé," Lonnie said.

"Jonathan? No, he didn't think anything of it. In fact, I don't think he even noticed."

Lonnie had Parker run a check on Jonathan Hollis, but the guy was squeaky clean. No one was sure where to go from here. Lonnie had plenty of suspicions, but no evidence to confirm them.

The trial of Paul Farnell moved along rather quickly. Crystal, Lonnie, and Bubba testified about what had happened, but when Farnell himself took the stand, all of them were in for a surprise. He retracted all the statements he had made concerning the Huntington family; he now claimed that he had acted entirely on his own, that he had murdered John Mayfair out of jealousy, and that he had hired coworkers from Huntington security to murder Ms. Collins in order to keep her from finding out the truth. Crystal was outraged at this turn of events, and in a desperate attempt to prevent a miscarriage of justice, she visited the jail that evening. Parker was on duty.

"I'm afraid visiting hours are over," he said, "and even if they weren't, I really don't think it's a good idea for you to see Farnell."

"Please, Parker, just give me a few minutes," she pleaded. "No one has to know. I just want to ask him one question. C'mon, Parker."

"Oh, all right," said Parker. "Just for a few minutes."

Parker led her to Farnell's cell and stood at a distance from them. Farnell sighed when he saw Crystal.

"What do you want, Ms. Collins?" he asked.

"I need to know why you've been lying in court," she said.

"You have me behind bars, and you have my guilty plea," said Farnell. "You have the man who killed your father. What more do you want?"

"I want the Huntingtons," she said. "Did they threaten you? How could they have gotten to you in here?"

He laughed quietly and rose to his feet, then he walked to the bars and stood in front of her.

"Don't you ever learn?" he asked. "You've been fortunate. They've given you a break, and you'd be wise to take it because it doesn't happen often. They won't just destroy you; they'll destroy everybody you care about. It's a sport to them. For your sake, and your friends' sakes, and for the sake of the town of Sparta, let this go."

After that night, Crystal was quiet about the trial. Lonnie could see that something troubled her, but she didn't seem to want to discuss it. She had a lot on her mind, for she was not only concerned over her own problems. She was constantly thinking of the bruise on Jessica Cooke, and it worried her that there had been no progress in the case. Now that there was a possible link between the girl's injuries and Hawkes's death, she felt it all the more urgent to convince the girl to come forward, and she had an idea about how to do it. With this in mind, she drove to the carnival again, but Jessica was not there, and no one had seen or heard from the girl. Crystal returned to her car and called the police station on her cell phone to ask for Jessica's address.

Jessica was staying with her parents, but her parents were at work. Fortunately, Jonathan was also out, so Crystal could talk with Jessica alone. It took a while to get her to the door, but finally she came, looking even worse than she had before.

"Can I come in?" Crystal asked.

"I've already told the police everything I know," said Jessica.

"I'm not here as a cop," said Crystal. "I don't work in Sparta. I just want to talk to you."

Reluctantly, Jessica let her in and offered her a seat on the living room couch.

"What happened to you?" Crystal asked.

"Did Bubba send you over here?" Jessica asked.

"Nobody sent me," said Crystal. "You remind me of myself when I was your age. I thought you might be interested in hearing a story about something that happened to me. Maybe you can relate, and if not, then I'll leave, and nobody has to know I was here."

"Okay," Jessica said quietly.

"Well, it started when I met a guy named Simon Baran," said Crystal. "He was handsome, charming, funny –I thought I was a lucky girl when he wanted me. But the first time we had an argument, I walked away from it with a black eye. He apologized, of course, said he didn't mean it and would never do it again, but it only got worse from there. I stopped seeing my friends and family because I couldn't come up with enough excuses to explain my appearance."

She pulled a picture out of her purse and handed it to Jessica. It was a picture of herself, almost unrecognizable underneath the bruises and cuts.

"That was me," she said. "I nearly died that time. A cop came to see me in the hospital, and she helped me to see that he wasn't worth my life. Because of her I lived to see another day, and to make something out of my life. It's not too late for you. I don't want to see you hit the bottom like I did."

As Jessica sat looking at the picture in her hand, she began to cry, and Crystal put her arms around the girl.

"He killed Cameron Hawkes," Jessica sobbed. "He was so jealous."

"Why don't you come with me to the station?" Crystal asked. "The police can help you. They can protect you. Bubba's been worried about you."

Jessica finally agreed, but as they were walking to Crystal's car, Jonathan pulled up in the driveway. Crystal handed her cell phone to Jessica.

"Get in the car," she said, "and call the police."

"Where are you taking Jessica?" Jonathan asked. "I don't think she's up to going out."

"I think she's a big girl and can decide for herself," Crystal said.

He started towards the car, but Crystal grabbed his arm and shoved him back.

"Get out of my way," he said.

"And what if I don't? Will you hit me too? Well, come one, I dare you. Let's see what you've got."

He tried to make a run towards Jessica, but Crystal tripped him up. He rose to his feet and swung at her, but she ducked. She came back up and punched him hard in the face before pulling her gun on him.

"Now we'll see how _you_ like a bloody face," she said.

Bubba and Luke arrived shortly thereafter and took Jonathan into custody. Back at the station, Bubba thanked Crystal for all she had done to help Jessica.

"There's no need to thank me," she said. "I was her once. A cop saved my life, and I feel it's my duty to do the same for other girls."

With Jessica taken care of, Crystal felt a weight lift off her shoulders, but she still had her own problems to deal with. Farnell's trial came to an end, and he was given a life sentence, and abruptly after that, Crystal packed her things and prepared to return to Chicago.

"You plan to continue the investigation there?" Lonnie asked.

"No," she said. "I think I need to close this chapter in my life for good."

"Do you really think you can do that?" he asked.

"Well, I won't forget Sparta," she said.

She held out the locket the he had given her, that she always wore around her neck.

"I'll decide what to do with the house soon," she said. "I'll probably sell. It's much too lonely there for me, and the place is stained with blood and with memories that I don't even know about. I just don't think I can live there."

And just like that, she was gone again, leaving Lonnie a thousand times more vexed than the first time she had left. He didn't suppose she felt the same way about leaving him as he felt about watching her go. She had played her role well, and she had him convinced that she just wasn't the type to stick around for long and get attached. Parker, however, just couldn't believe that. He felt he held a missing piece of the puzzle, and after agonizing about it for a few days, he finally decided to tell Lonnie about Crystal's visit to Farnell and the conversation that he had overheard.

"I guess she finally decided to take the man's advice," Lonnie said. "I suppose that's understandable, given what she's been through. She said she wanted to put this all behind her. Maybe this time she will."

Lonnie had no idea what a struggle Crystal was having trying to put Sparta behind her. She kept trying to return to her former life, but each time she came home to Chicago she found it less possible to resume life as it had been. Peter Lanigan's handsome face no longer excited her, and her work seemed to be a mere distraction. Her apartment felt cramped after living for a while in a grand estate. Peter, who had known her much longer than Lonnie, was much more baffled by her sudden change of heart in the matter of her family.

"It isn't like you to back down," he said.

"Sometimes you just have to choose your battles," she replied. "I found my parents, and the man who killed my father is behind bars. I have a life to run here, Peter; I can't spend all my time running around Sparta looking for ghosts, bringing judgment down on people who don't deserve it."

That was the closest she came to admitting the truth about why she had left. She had thought to make a clean break with Sparta, thinking that it was best for everyone involved, but the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed to forget the relationships that she had formed in her parents' hometown. After two weeks had gone by, she called Lonnie at home, and asked him to visit her in Chicago.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," he said. "We're in the middle of some arson cases here."

"Just for a weekend?" she pleaded. "I miss you, Lonnie. Besides, I've spent plenty of time on your turf; now I'd like to show you mine."

Lonnie felt apprehensive about taking such a trip, and he felt that to agree to it might very well amount to tossing his heart in the street for her to trample on, but in the end he acquiesced to her pleas. Chief Forbes said they could handle the cases for a few days, that he was entitled to some time off, and so, Lonnie Jamison, a man who had been outside of Sparta only a handful of times in his life, was now headed for Chicago.

To Be Continued…


	3. Homesick Part III

Homesick –Part III

A young man of twenty-five was driving himself from a party late at night. He had been working with the catering service there and was now going home, but he had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the bottoms. He pulled over to the side of the road and took a sip from the bottle of brandy that he had taken from the party. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was and where he should go next. He lit up a cigarette, and he sat and watched the match until it burned down to his finger.

There was a house directly to his right. All the lights were out. He drove his car around the block and put it out of sight, then he got out, taking with him the bottle of brandy and book of matches. He crept around to the back of the house that he had seen. He poured out the brandy around the perimeter in the back and lit a match, watching it intently for a minute before tossing it at the house. He hadn't planned on this one, but that didn't make it any less thrilling. In fact, the more times he did it, the more thrilling it became.

He stepped back into the shadows to watch his work. He was unmoved by the sound of screams that came from the house, but when he heard the sound of sirens, he reluctantly returned to his car and left the scene. He went home, threw away the empty brandy bottle, and went to sleep.

Chief Forbes stood in front of the charred remains of the little house and shook his head; the house was almost entirely destroyed. He bent down and picked up a blackened teddy bear, a reminder that a family had once lived here. The family had narrowly escaped with their lives, but now all they had was lost.

Parker and Luann were out interviewing the neighbors to find out if anyone had seen anything. Lonnie and Bubba were looking over the house for evidence. There had been two fires in the county on the previous week, but both of them had been barn fires, not house fires. There was no way to tell yet if this fire was a case of arson or if it was connected to the previous two fires in the county. Parker and Luann soon returned with no helpful information, and Forbes's interview with the victims did not turn up any motive for arson.

When the forensic evidence came in, however, Lonnie was quick to point out to the Chief that there was a common factor in the three fires.

"It's gotta be the same guy," he said. "How many arsonists do you know that use brandy to light fires?"

"I just wish he had some kind of recognizable pattern," said Forbes.

"Yeah, so do I," said Lonnie. "This thing is going to be bugging me all weekend."

Lonnie had a plane to catch, so he could not be there for the meeting with Sheriff Gillespie that took place later that day. Now that they had evidence to connect the fires in the county and the city, they had decided to join forces in their investigation. Forbes handed Bill the file on the case, and Bill looked over the notes that Lonnie had made.

"This person sure has expensive taste," said Bill. "Any ideas about who it might be?"

"I've seen arson cases before," said Forbes, "but none that were quite like this. I think we might be dealing with some kind of pyromaniac."

"Where is Lonnie, by the way?"

"He's on a plane to Chicago," said Forbes.

"Visiting Ms. Collins, I presume," said Bill.

"She invited him for the weekend," said Forbes. "He deserved some time off, but he didn't want to take too long, especially with this arson case unsolved, and to be honest, I'm relieved. I need him working on this case."

"Well, I would be relieved too," said Bill, "but I can think of another reason to be."

It was Friday afternoon when Lonnie arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. When he saw Crystal in the terminal, he thought of the enthusiastic sendoff that Parker had given him in Sparta. Parker had encouraged him to bring Crystal back with him, and he had replied that he was only going to visit for the weekend.

"A lot can happen in a weekend," Parker had said.

Lonnie didn't want to admit that he hoped Parker was right.

Even in the crowdedness of this Chicago airport, Crystal stood out. She was dressed in jeans and a navy blue shirt, her police badge clipped to her waist. She looked very professional, but as glamorous as ever.

"It's good to see you, Lonnie," she said. "I've missed you."

"Everybody back in Sparta says hello," he told her. "We all miss you."

"I'm not sure where I feel more homesick –here, or in Sparta," she said.

She hooked her arm in his and walked him out of the airport and to her car, which like his own was red.

"I'm going to drop you by your hotel," she said, "and then I have some things to finish up at work. I should be off in a couple of hours. Maybe we can get some dinner or something then."

She had offered to let him stay at her apartment, but Lonnie thought it wise to draw the line at staying with her. Crystal dropped him at the hotel and told him she would be back as soon as possible. Lonnie checked in and went up to his room. He took a few pictures of the city from the room's balcony, then he sat down on the bed and watched t.v. for a while. In a little over two hours, Crystal was knocking on his door, just as she had promised.

"What do you say we go back to my apartment and order some takeout?" she asked. "I'd like to do some catching up tonight."

They went back to her apartment and ordered Chinese, and then they sat together on her couch and talked about recent cases. Lonnie told her about the arson troubles, and he asked if she had any big cases in the works.

"Actually, we're just wrapping up a big one, a gang murder," she said. "These things are almost never solved because everybody's too afraid to talk. But this time, we found a witness, thanks to some stellar police work, if I do say so myself."

"Congratulations," said Lonnie.

"Thanks. Of course, I can't take all the credit, but I can take a fair amount, since all the undercover work was mine."

They were sitting very close on the couch, but as usual, Crystal extricated herself from the situation when things got too quiet.

"Let me just clean this stuff up," she said. "You should go out on the fire escape and check out the view."

Lonnie did as she suggested and stood on the fire escape while Crystal straightened up, and he looked out over the brightly lit Chicago skyline. He had only been here a few hours, and already he was overwhelmed by the size and busyness of this city. Crystal joined him a few minutes later.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said.

"Certainly impressive," he replied. "So this is the place you call home."

"When somebody asks --yes," she said, "but only because that's the logical answer. I've lived here all my life. I only lived in Sparta for a little over two months. I'm going to have to come to a decision about the house, though. Lonnie, I think that I--"

She didn't get to finish her sentence because someone was calling her name from inside the apartment.

"It's Peter," she said. "I guess I'll be making introductions now."

They went back inside, and Lonnie found himself finally face to face with Crystal's partner and sometimes boyfriend, a man he had envied and hated from a distance.

"Hey, Crys, you left work in such a hurry," said Peter. "Now I see why. You must be Lonnie Jamison. I'm Peter Lanigan."

"Nice to meet you," Lonnie said.

"Likewise," said Peter. "Crys speaks very highly of you, and she doesn't speak highly of very many people. Listen, I was just on my way to shoot some pool. Are you two in?"

"What do you think, Lonnie?" asked Crystal.

"Sure, I'm in," he said.

"Okay, I'm just going to go freshen up," said Crystal. "Be back in a second."

Lonnie was a bit annoyed by this interruption, but he welcomed the opportunity to size up his competition.

"So, this is your first time in Chicago?" Peter asked.

"Sure is," said Lonnie. "I never had a reason to come here before."

"Crys a very persuasive reason," said Peter. "How long are you staying?"

"Just for the weekend," said Lonnie. "I need to get back to work as soon as possible."

"Crys told me that you're the closest thing to a detective in the Sparta police department."

"I'm acting in that capacity for now," Lonnie said. "It's nothing official at the moment."

"Well, good luck with that."

Crystal came back into the room then, keys in hand, and asked if they were ready to go. The three of them filed out of the apartment, and Crystal locked the door behind them.

"Peter, did you drive your car?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Okay, good. I think Lonnie and I should take my car."

In the car, Crystal apologized to Lonnie, and she explained to him that she and Peter were used to coming and going freely from each other's apartments.

"I'll make sure he doesn't turn up tomorrow," she said.

They met up at a pool hall that Crystal and Peter frequented, and they got themselves a table. Lonnie held his own in the game, and he was glad to be able to do so because Peter didn't seem the least bit worried about Lonnie's presence. Lonnie felt at a great disadvantage here, like he was in someone else's domain, but although he was endlessly irritated by Peter's shameless flirting, he was encouraged by the fact that Crystal usually rolled her eyes in response.

Lonnie stood behind her as she prepared to make another shot, and when she bent over, he noticed that there was a scar on the left side of her lower back in what appeared to be the shape of a crude letter 'B'. He was wondering what it could mean when he was startled by the ringing of a cell phone.

"I should have put that on vibrate," said Crystal.

She checked the i.d. to see who was calling.

"I have to take this," she said.

Crystal walked away from the pool table and answered her phone, leaving Lonnie and Peter alone for the moment.

"You're pretty good," said Peter.

"You sound surprised," said Lonnie. "What's the matter –you didn't think we had pool halls in the south?"

"Well, you must have something down there because I can't imagine what Crys was doing all those weeks," said Peter, "unless it was just you. You obviously have something she likes for her to invite you up here."

"Maybe she just wanted a guy who respects women for once," said Lonnie.

Peter didn't have a chance to retort. Crystal returned to the table then, and the expression on her face was one of anxiety.

"We have to go," she said. "Something's happened."

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"We lost our witness," she said.

"Lost how?"

"Dead," she replied. "Stabbed in the back, all three of them."

"You mean the officers who were guarding her…"

"Yeah, all dead. I'll meet you there, okay?"

When they got there, Crystal told Lonnie that he was welcome to come have a look if he wanted, though the scene was going to be ugly. He didn't want to pass up a chance to watch the Chicago PD in action, so he followed her up the steps to a little apartment, where three brutally murdered people lay on the floor in pools of blood. She explained to Lonnie that gang members often sought to make a statement when they killed, hence the excessive use of violence.

"Let me guess," she said to Peter, "nobody saw anything, and nobody heard anything."

"We should probably go talk to all the neighbors anyway," said Peter.

"Can you take care of that?" Crystal asked. "I'd like to go to Lucite and see what I can find out."

"Again? They're going to be on to you sooner or later," said Peter, "if they're not already."

"I'll take my chances," said Crystal.

"Of course you will," said Peter. "You always do."

"Two of our guys are dead here," she said, "and so is a woman that we swore we would protect. We owe it to them to do everything we can to get justice."

"Well, be careful," said Peter. "You could just as easily end up on their hit list."

"They'll have to take a number," said Crystal.

It was a typical sort of response from her. Peter let it go.

"I'll call you later," said Crystal. "C'mon, Lonnie."

She headed out of the apartment, and Lonnie followed. In the car again, he asked what Lucite was.

"It's a dance club," she said. "Members of this gang hang out there, so I've been doing some undercover work there. I'll take you to your hotel first. I'm really sorry about this, Lonnie, but I promise we'll have all day tomorrow."

"I'm not going back to the hotel," he said. "Is your partner in the habit of letting you go places alone?"

"He just knows when it's no good to argue," she said.

"Well, I'm going with you," said Lonnie.

"All right," she said. "We'll have to go back to my apartment first and get changed. I hope you like leather."

Crystal still had some clothes that belonged to an ex-boyfriend, and she gave Lonnie these to wear. He didn't feel at all comfortable in leather pants, but Crystal seemed to like the look on him, and after all, if they were going to do undercover work, they had to look convincing. She put on her own pair of leather pants with a shiny tank top and sparkly makeup, and they headed over to Lucite.

It was like no club that Lonnie had ever been in before. All the clubs in Sparta were either jazz and blues clubs or sports bars. Lucite was a dance club, full of glammed up people, flashing lights, and techno music. Crystal left Lonnie at the bar and told him to wait there while she worked the room a bit. Lonnie ordered a drink, and then he watched Crystal on the dance floor. He found it hard to believe that she was really working; she looked like she was having too much fun.

"You're not from around here, are you?" asked the bartender.

"How'd you guess?" Lonnie said with a wry grin. "You been working here long?"

"Almost a year," she said.

"I'll bet you have a lot of stories to tell."

Lonnie continued talking to the bartender until Crystal returned to the bar.

"The guys I want are heading towards the back rooms," she said. "I'll need your help to get close to them. Just follow my lead."

She took his hand and led him through the crowd, then through a bead curtain and into a dimly lit hallway. She placed her back against the wall beside a closed door and pulled him close to her. She turned her head and listened at the door until she heard the knob turning, then she grabbed Lonnie and kissed him, and she did not let go again until the suspects had passed.

"Do you and your partner do undercover work like this often?" he asked.

"No, I usually just grab a random guy," she said jokingly. "As far as I could tell, there was a drug deal going down in there. Nothing about the murders."

"I think I may have gotten something from the bartender," Lonnie said. "She says she saw a guy cleaning his knife in the corner booth earlier. From her description, I'd say it was one of those guys we were just following, although I didn't get a good look. I was a little distracted."

"C'mon, I'll point them out," she said with a smile.

They left the hallway, and Crystal looked around until she saw the two guys, then she nodded her head in their direction.

"That looks like him on the right there," said Lonnie.

"Good work," said Crystal. "The question now is what to do with this information. If I try to take him in, we'll get jumped by the whole lot of them. If I call for backup, a lot of people might get hurt here. And either way, I blow my cover."

While she was trying to come up with her next move, she noticed a group of guys coming in the door.

"Things may have just gotten a lot worse," she said. "See those guys coming in? They're from a rival gang, and I'd be willing to bet they're looking for trouble."

Her instincts proved correct. The newcomers had only been in the club for a few minutes when a fight broke out over something trivial. Crystal and Lonnie tried to make their way through the crowd, but they were bumped by somebody, and it created a domino effect, which drew them unwillingly into the brawl. They both blocked and threw punches until they were able to extricate themselves from the crowd, and in the confusion, they lost their suspect. Crystal called the police on her cell phone once she was outside and reported the disturbance. She described the suspect as well, just in case any of the cops who responded happened to see the man.

"Maybe they'll catch our killer, but I doubt it," she said. "I guess we should call it a night."

She drove to her apartment automatically, though the hour was late.

"This is not what I had planned for this weekend," she said as she lowered herself onto her stomach on the couch. "I'm sorry, Lonnie."

"It's wasn't such a bad night," he said, "except for the fight part. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "We're lucky neither one of us took a knife in the ribs."

Lonnie sat down on the edge of the couch, and again he looked down at the scar on her back. He touched it lightly with his finger.

"Can I ask what this scar is?"

"It's a 'B' for 'Baran'," she said. "Simon Baran, an old boyfriend. He was a little on the possessive side. He did that with his pocket knife, to mark his property."

"I can't imagine anybody being able to hold you long enough to do that," Lonnie said.

Crystal laughed.

"I was slightly more docile back then," she said. "But I learned quick. A brush with death is enough to change anybody's outlook on life."

She laughed again, giddy with exhaustion.

"If I didn't know better, I would say he was sent by my dear family," she said. "Actually, though, I don't know better. They're powerful enough, evil enough, shady enough. Maybe I'm lucky they gave me up. They may be powerful and wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'm proud to be one of them."

"I know what you mean," said Lonnie.

"Oh, yes," she said. "You have your own connections to a rich and powerful family of Sparta."

"Who told you that?" asked Lonnie.

"Who else?" she said. "Parker Williams, Sparta's one-stop shop for town gossip."

"What else did he tell you?"

"Oh, nothing I couldn't figure out for myself," she said.

"So what happened to this Baran?" Lonnie asked.

"They put him away for a few years, then he got out and got himself killed," Crystal said. "I thought after he was gone I could stop looking over my shoulder, but I don't suppose I'll ever stop that in this line of work. Lonnie?"

"Yeah."

He waited, but she merely sighed and said it was nothing. A few minutes later, Lonnie realized that she was asleep. He got up and went to find a blanket for her, then he changed back into his t-shirt and jeans and sat down in a chair across from the couch. He sat there watching her for a while, and then he, too, fell asleep.

Parker had been asleep for about an hour when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of shouts and the smell of smoke. He jolted out of bed and went to open the bedroom door, but the knob was hot, so he climbed out the window instead. Luckily, one of his neighbors had already called the fire department, and they were on their way. The usually chipper man was somber now as he watched his house going up in flames. To make matters worse, he was surrounded by his neighbors, and by the guests of a party that had been going on next door. The firefighters were able to put the blaze out fairly quickly, and the house was not destroyed, but it would definitely need reconstruction before it could be lived in again.

"I'm real sorry about this, Parker," said Bubba when he arrived at the scene. "Why don't you come home with me for tonight?"

Parker salvaged what he could of his things from his bedroom, then he drove his car to Bubba's house.

"I don't understand," Parker said. "If this is the same guy, it just doesn't make any sense. The first two fires were in barns out in the middle of nowhere, and the third fire was down in the bottoms."

"Well, let's not jump to conclusions," said Bubba. "We won't know until we have forensic information if this fire was set by our arsonist."

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't my fault," said Parker. "I made sure everything was off before I went to bed."

"Nobody's accusing you, Parker. I'm just saying we need to wait for the evidence."

Parker couldn't get back to sleep that night. He kept going over the previous arson cases in his mind, and over the events of his day, searching for any detail that might shed light upon the reason that his house had been chosen tonight, but he just couldn't come up with anything that made sense. First thing in the morning, he put in a call to Lonnie's hotel room in Chicago, but there was no answer, so he left a message for Lonnie to call him at the station.

Lonnie awoke to the smell of coffee, eggs and toast. He got up and stretched. He had a crick in his neck from sleeping all night in the chair.

"Good morning," Crystal said. "Breakfast?"

Lonnie joined her in the kitchen, where she was standing in her bathrobe making an omelet. He sat down at the table, and Crystal fixed him a plate and a cup of coffee.

"I guarantee you that Peter will walk in the door any second," said Crystal. "I didn't call him last night."

Sure enough, before they were done eating, Peter Lanigan walked in.

"It was late," Crystal said. "I was tired."

"And I was worried," Peter said.

"I'm touched," said Crystal, "but as you can see, I'm just fine. Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure," he said as he pulled up a chair at the table. "Did you find out anything last night?"

"We got a suspect," she said, "and then we lost him. Neighbors say anything?"

"Nothing," said Peter.

"Okay, well, today I am off work," said Crystal, "and I am going to show Lonnie around Chicago, so I will see you on Monday."

She got up and put her dishes in the sink.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Peter asked.

"You got it," said Crystal. "But as long as you're leaving, you might make yourself useful. Lonnie's going to need to ride back to the hotel. I need to get a shower and change clothes."

"No problem," said Peter. "I'm ready whenever you are, Lonnie."

Lonnie finished up his coffee and followed Peter out of the apartment.

"So, you stayed with Crys last night," said Peter.

"It's not what you think," said Lonnie.

"You don't have to explain to me," said Peter. "Crys can do whatever she wants, with whomever she wants, and she will. I just want to make sure that you understand that. She'll get over her love affair with the South. This thing with her parents really threw her, but she'll recover from that, and things will get back to normal. She's already planning to sell that house in Mississippi."

"She didn't mention it to me," said Lonnie.

"Maybe she just didn't want to tell you," said Peter. "But I know her better than anyone. I've spent almost every day with her for the past five years, sometimes nights too. I'm only saying this to help you. She's been known to break a few hearts."

When Lonnie got back to the hotel, he was given the message the Parker had left. He went to his room and immediately called the station, and he learned about the fire at Parker's house.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning, Parker," he said. "Actually, I'm sorry I wasn't there with you in Sparta. I think I'll come home tomorrow instead of Monday. We'll get to this bottom of this. Just hang in there."

After he showered and changed clothes, he lay back on the bed to wait for Crystal. He hadn't told Parker his reason for not being at the hotel that morning, and now that he had time to think about it, he saw things in a different light than he had the night before. He realized how out of place he was in this big-city lifestyle, and though he knew Peter Lanigan had a personal interest in the matter, Lonnie believed that the man was right about Crystal.

_What am I doing here? _he thought. _Once again, I've let a woman make a complete fool out of me._

Lonnie called the airport and made plans to leave on the following morning, but he didn't mention it to Crystal when she came because he didn't want to put a damper on their day together. He did tell her about the news from Sparta, however, since he knew that she would want to know.

"Is Parker okay?" she asked.

"Physically, he's fine, but it'll be a while before he can live in his house again."

"Call him back," said Crystal, "and tell him to go and stay at my estate. It's a big place, it's empty…it would be perfect. He can stay there for as long as he needs to."

Lonnie called Parker back and told him about Crystal's offer. Parker decided to accept, and he sent his thanks to Crystal. When that was done, she and Lonnie left the hotel. They looked at museums and landmarks, took pictures, ate at some of the best places in the city. It was a busy day, and it was late when they returned to the hotel. Lonnie knew he had to tell Crystal now that he was leaving in the morning.

"You haven't even been here two full days!" she protested. "Didn't you have a good time today?"

"I had a great time," he said, "but I have responsibilities back at home."

"On a Sunday?" she said. "Is the whole of Sparta going to go up in flames if you don't get back there tomorrow?"

"Parker nearly lost his house last night," said Lonnie. "Just like you owe it to those cops who died to find the killer, I owe it Parker to find this arsonist."

"I understand that," she said, "and I'm completely sympathetic to Parker. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met, and he didn't deserve for that awful thing to happen to him. I just think you have another reason for wanting to leave Chicago. Don't lie to me, Lonnie Jamison –I can spot a lie."

"All right, there is another reason," he said. "I can't keep playing these games with you, Crystal. If you're content to play the field, I wish you the best, but I don't want to be on that field. I'm not in high school anymore."

"Did Peter say something to you this morning?" she asked.

"Whether he did or not, it doesn't matter," Lonnie said. "Your actions speak for themselves. It's perfectly fine if this lifestyle works for you, but it won't work for me."

"You've been thinking about this all day, haven't you?" she asked. "You knew you were leaving."

"I decided this morning."

"Then you should have discussed it with me this morning," she said.

"Maybe you're right," he said, "but I did what I thought was best. I don't mean to take advantage of your hospitality, and I don't want to hurt you. I just think that one of us needs to put an end to this, and since I'm the only one who seems to mind, it may as well be me."

Desperate ideas flooded her mind. She thought of arguments, pleas, and apologies she could make. She even thought of trying to seduce him, but she felt that it wouldn't be fair for her to make this any harder for him.

"I guess you'd rather I left you alone from now on," she said.

"If you want to call once in a while, you can," he said, "and if you happen to be in town again, I'll be happy to see you, but I think we should back off. If I keep seeing you, I'll just be tempted to keep doing this, and I want more than this. I'm not getting any younger, and I'm through with just having a good time."

"I understand," she said. "For what it's worth, I'm still glad you came up here."

She stayed up most of the night, looking at the picture in her locket. She returned to the hotel on the following morning to drive Lonnie to the airport. They talked very little on the way there; it was the first time there had ever been any awkward silence between them. Crystal didn't look at him directly, only turned her head slightly and said a quiet goodbye before he got out of the car. As she drove away from the airport, she continued to fight her tears, and her sorrow quickly turned to anger. Instead of going home, she drove to Peter's apartment and burst in the door. He was in the kitchen pouring himself a drink. Crystal walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You said something to him, didn't you?" she asked.

"Lonnie? Yeah, I said something. I said the truth."

"What truth –that you want to keep me here in Chicago to use for your plaything whenever you get bored?"

"Where is this venom coming from?" he asked. "I was under the impression that we had a mutual arrangement."

"Not anymore," she said. "Lonnie's gone, but you and I are finished."

She walked back into the living room area, crossed her arms, and began pacing. Peter stayed at the counter and took a sip of his drink.

"Seems like we've been finished since the first time you came back from Mississippi," he said. "I know the past few months have been difficult for you. I've given you your space, I haven't pressed you to talk about what's been bothering you, but you're going to have to face facts sooner or later. Lonnie's not stupid; he realized the truth, and so should you. I think part of you feels like you should have grown up in Sparta, with your parents. You keep hanging on to that house, and to the people you met while you were there, but you can't go back and live your life a second time. You grew up here in Chicago; you have memories here, you have a career, you have friends. You can't change the past, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get on with your life."

"It may look like I have everything here," she said, "but today I feel like I have nothing. I know you can't understand my feelings about Sparta. All you know is that it's a small southern town, and to you it's worthless. And you think Lonnie is just a small town cop, a southern country boy who lucked up one day when a glamorous big city detective walked into his department. You want to talk about the truth? Well, here it is –I was the lucky one! I didn't even deserve for somebody like Lonnie to look twice at me."

She sat down on the coffee table because it was the nearest thing to her, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Oh my god," said Peter. "You really do love this guy, don't you?"

He put his drink down on the counter and went and sat beside her.

"I really didn't think it was that serious," he said. "I thought he was a passing fancy. I thought you were just fascinated by his southern charm."

"I am fascinated by his charm," said Crystal. "I'm fascinated by everything about him –his quietness, his way of being tough on the job and gentle when he's off, even the way he puts his hands on his hips when he's standing still."

"Wow, you've got it bad, Crys," said Peter. "Why didn't you ask him to stay, or go back with him to Mississippi?"

"Because he had every right to leave," she said. "I've wreaked enough havoc on his life. I've done nothing but confuse him since he met me, not to mention that I almost got him killed, more than once. I left Sparta because I wanted to protect him, but I think I was more afraid of my feelings than of the Huntingtons."

"Then there's only one thing you can do," said Peter. "Go after him."

"He's done with me," said Crystal. "He made that pretty clear."

"But you didn't tell him how you felt, did you? I don't think he had enough information to make a decision on the matter. Go and grovel if you have to, abuse me to him all you want. If you really love this guy, then you owe it to yourself to try. And if it doesn't work out, you'll always have me, for whatever that's worth. Now, you go home and pack, and I'll drive you to the airport."

Crystal took his advice and went home to pack. She found the first flight she could find to Jackson, and Peter took her to the airport.

"Here I go again," she said. "The amount of traffic going back and forth between here and Mississippi these days is ridiculous."

"Well, I never thought I'd say this," said Peter, "but this time, I hope you stay put."

"I'll call you as soon as I know," she said. "And I want you to keep me updated on the gang case."

"I will," he said. "I'll keep looking for the killer."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and watched her leave. He felt guilty for not having seen the truth that was right in front of him the entire time, and for his part in the whole mess. He sincerely hoped that Crystal would succeed with Lonnie this time. She had been through a lot in her life, and he felt that she deserved to be happy. If Lonnie Jamison was what made her happy, then so be it. He knew that Lonnie would take better care of her than he ever did himself.


	4. Homesick Part IV

Homesick –Part IV

As soon as he was unpacked, Lonnie went to the station and sat down with the arson file. He was looking over the information concerning the most recent fire when Bubba came in.

"Hey, look who's back," said Bubba. "How was Chicago?"

"I'm relieved to be home," said Lonnie. "Let's just say that leather pants and dance clubs aren't exactly my scene."

"You look tired," said Bubba. "Didn't you get any sleep up there?"

"Hardly," Lonnie replied. "I'll tell you about it later. I'm going over to see Parker now."

"It was nice of Crystal to offer the house for Parker," said Bubba.

"Yeah, well, I doubt she'll be needing it again," Lonnie said.

Lonnie left the station and drove to the estate. It was strange to be there without Crystal being there too, but Lonnie figured he would have to get used to that.

"I guess you're pretty comfortable here," he said to Parker.

"It's a nice house," said Parker, "but it's not like home. The size of it makes it feel kind of lonely."

"Crystal says that too," said Lonnie.

"She didn't come back with you," Parker said.

"No," Lonnie sighed. "I don't expect she'll be back here for a while. Let that be the end of it. I just want to concentrate on catching this arsonist. What happened to your house is definitely the work of the same guy."

"You'd think that with all the people around that night, somebody would have seen something," said Parker. "My next door neighbors were having some sort of party."

"Do you think anybody might have been drinking brandy at that party?" Lonnie asked.

"I couldn't say," Parker replied.

"I'll go by there today and talk to your neighbors," said Lonnie. "Then I'll check all the liquor stores and see if they've been selling an unusual amount of brandy lately. You just stay here and enjoy your day off, and I'll come back by tonight, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Lonnie."

When Parker heard the front door opening that evening, he assumed that it was Lonnie. He was quite surprised to see Crystal Collins in the doorway.

"Hey, Parker," she said. "I'm glad you decided to stay. It's nice to come home to somebody."

"Home?" Parker echoed.

Crystal smiled, but she was not her usual cheery self. Neither was Parker, so the two made an appropriate pair. Crystal took her things up to her bedroom, then she came back down and sat with Parker on the sofa.

"Lonnie talked as if you wouldn't be coming back," Parker said.

"I'm sure he thought I wouldn't," she said. "He probably wishes I wouldn't, but I couldn't stay away."

"What happened between you two?" Parker asked.

"The inevitable, I guess," Crystal said. "Inevitable because I'm such a damned fool. I hurt him, Parker, but I swear I didn't mean to. I guess people like me never mean to, but we do anyway.

"I'm sorry, I'm talking in riddles. What happened was that I led him to believe that I wasn't serious about him, when all the while I've been crazy about him, and I was running scared from it."

"He's supposed to come by here tonight," Parker said. "He could be here any minute."

"How am I going to face him again, Parker? What am I going to say? How can I convince him that this time is different?"

She moaned in frustration. She was tempted to go upstairs to her room and hide, not even let Lonnie know she was here, but that was just the kind of behavior she was trying to combat.

"I went over this in my mind so many times on the plane, and on the drive from Jackson," she said, "and it just never seemed to come out right."

"Just be sincere," said Parker. "Tell him the truth. You really can't do more than that."

Lonnie visited Parker's neighbors and the liquor stores, just as he had said he would, but these avenues turned up no new information. He talked to both Chief Forbes and Sheriff Gillespie about the case, but they were as frustrated as he was. At the end of the day, he would be forced to tell Parker that they still had nothing.

It was close to 8:00 p.m. when he drove back to the estate. He noticed the second car in the driveway, but he didn't recognize it. He wondered who it could be. Parker answered the door when he rang and asked if there were any new developments.

"I'm sorry to say it, but no," said Lonnie.

"Well, we'll keep looking," said Parker. "There's somebody here that wants to talk to you."

Parker gestured to the room where Crystal was still sitting on the couch, and he let Lonnie go alone. When Lonnie entered the room, his face looked even more surprised than Parker's had. Crystal had butterflies in her stomach at the sight of him. She was much too nervous to stand up.

"Hey, Lonnie," she said.

"I didn't expect you back so soon," Lonnie said.

"Neither did I," she said, "but here I am."

Lonnie went and sat next to her on the sofa, but not as close to her as he used to sit.

"I don't even know how to begin to apologize to you," she said.

"I thought we finished this in Chicago," he said. "If you're in Sparta to take care of the house, you don't owe me an explanation."

"I'm not here because of the house," she said. "And if by 'take care of', you mean 'sell', I don't want to get rid of the house."

"Your partner said you did."

"Peter is sitting back in Chicago now with his foot in his mouth," Crystal said. "Whatever he said to you, he was wrong. He's known me for a long time, but I'm not the same girl that I was before I came here."

"You could've fooled me," Lonnie said.

"I deserve that," Crystal said, "but I'm telling you, Lonnie –Sparta changed everything. _You_ changed everything. I didn't want to face an upheaval in my life. And I know that's no excuse. There's no excuse for the way I've treated you, but I will do anything to make it up to you."

"What are you saying?" he asked.

"I'm saying I want another chance with you," she said. "I want to move to Sparta for good and start all over."

"How do I know you won't run back to Chicago at the first sign of trouble?" Lonnie asked.

"Fair enough," she said. "You _don't_ know, and you _won't_ until you give me a chance to prove it to you."

"Can I have some time to think about it?" he asked.

"Of course. Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

"I need to talk to Parker before I go," he said.

He got up and started to leave the room.

"Lonnie, wait," she called.

He stopped and turned around.

"There's something I have to tell you," she said.

She stood up so that she could be on eye level with him. She hesitated for a minute because what she was thinking was difficult for her to say.

"I'm willing to leave behind everything –my job, my friends, the place I've called home all my life," she said, "all for you. I'm in love with you, Lonnie Jamison, and if I don't accomplish anything else here, I hope I can convince you of that."

It was hard for him to walk away from that, but he really thought he needed time to think this thing through

"I'll take that into account," he said.

Crystal was feeling a bit lightheaded, so after Lonnie was gone, she decided to go to bed early.

Lonnie had a great deal weighing on his mind when he went into work on Monday morning. He tried to put his personal concerns aside, but it was difficult to do so, especially since the first thing Parker said to him that morning was about Crystal.

"She's in bed sick today," Parker told him. "She's come down with a pretty nasty cold."

Lonnie was thinking that maybe he should send some flowers to her when Chief Forbes called for him.

"There's been another fire," said Forbes, "on the county line. I told Bill we'd meet him there."

Lonnie took Officer Covey with him, and Chief Forbes rode with Dee Shepherd. Bill Gillespie was already waiting for them when they arrived at the scene.

"It was the rain that put this thing out last night," Bill said.

"This is an abandoned house, with no close neighbors," said Lonnie. "I would have thought that he would strike in a more prominent neighborhood; he seemed to be getting bolder."

"Either he's playing games with us," said Forbes, "or we're dealing with some kind of psycho."

The officers searched the grounds very carefully, and to their surprise, they came across something this time. In the mud behind the house there was what appeared to be a partial shoeprint, surrounded by broken glass.

"Looks like he slipped up and dropped his bottle of brandy," said Lonnie.

Very carefully, the pieces of glass were taken from the scene, and they were sent off to the crime lab in Jackson. It would take some time to get results, so there was little they could do now but wait.

Crystal stayed in bed until noon. She was feeling miserable, but she somehow got herself out of bed and dressed. She didn't have much of an appetite, so she sat down and ate a bowl of oatmeal, then she drove to the nearest store to pick up some cold medicine. She was feeling even more lightheaded than she had the night before, and she accidentally bumped into a guy at the counter.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm clumsy today. It's this cold."

"No problem," he said.

He was buying a pack of cigarettes and matches.

"You know those things will kill you, don't you?" Crystal said.

"That's what I hear," he said, "but it's too late to stop now."

"It's never too late," she said. "Ever try nicotine gum, or nicotine patches?"

"Nah. I enjoy lighting these up far too much for that."

She noticed that there was a series of cuts on his arm.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked.

"Broken window," he said. "You take care of that cold, Ma'am."

"Thanks."

She went back home after that and took the medicine, then she collapsed onto the couch and fell asleep. She didn't wake up again until Parker came back from work. He had brought her some soup.

"You're a sweetheart, Parker," she said.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Terrible," she replied. "How was work?"

"We got another arson," he said. "And this time, we may have some evidence. We're just waiting for the results."

He told her about the broken glass. It reminded her of the man she had seen earlier in the store, but she was still too groggy to think of really connecting the two.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Parker asked.

"Can you sit here and talk for a bit?" she asked.

"Sure."

"So what's the latest gossip in Sparta?" she asked.

"Well, Bubba and his girlfriend just broke up recently," said Parker. "I guess he'll be going to the Policemen's Ball alone on Friday night."

"You're having a Policemen's Ball?"

"Yes, Ma'am," said Parker. "Planned out by Harriet Gillespie, Sheriff Gillespie's wife. It's to collect money for charity."

By Friday, Crystal was still not feeling in top shape, but she was much better.

"I know just what you need to cheer you up," said Parker.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" she asked.

"You need to get out of this lonely house and have a good time," said Parker. "Why don't you go with me to the ball tonight?"

"I don't know, Parker…"

"Come on, Crystal," he said. "Lonnie will be there."

"Which could be a good reason for me not to go," she said.

"Or," said Parker, "it could be exactly the reason that you should go."

Ultimately, she agreed to go. She had not had much company since her return to Sparta, and she very much wanted to see everyone again. She did not have much time, but she went out shopping for something to wear. She decided on something black; she figured you couldn't go wrong with the classic little black dress.

At close to 7:00, she got in the car with Parker, and they rode together to the ball. The first person she ran into that she knew was Sheriff Gillespie. He welcomed her back to Sparta and introduced her to Harriet.

"It's nice to finally meet you," said Harriet. "You've been the talk of the town for quite some time now."

"Well, I hope I'll give them occasion to keep talking," Crystal said. "I'm considering moving to Sparta permanently."

"You certainly have a wonderful house to move to," said Harriet.

"Yes, it is beautiful," said Crystal, "but to be honest with you, I think it's a bit too big for me. I've been thinking over an idea, and maybe you can help me with it. I was thinking of donating the house to be used for an orphanage."

"That's a very generous offer," said Harriet.

"I think it would be a better tribute to my parents than my moving in there," said Crystal, "and of course, the issue of orphaned children is one that touches me personally."

"Why don't you stop by my office one day, and we can discuss it?" said Harriet.

"I will," said Crystal. "You've done a lovely job with the ball, by the way."

"Thank you," said Harriet. "A lot of people worked very hard to put this together."

Just then, Crystal noticed that Lonnie was walking in the door. Immediately she felt the butterflies return to her stomach. He had sent her flowers while she was sick, but she had not spoken with him since the night of her arrival in Sparta.

"Would you excuse me?" she said. "It was lovely meeting you, Harriet. I'll definitely come by your office one day soon."

Crystal left the Gillespies, but instead of going to see Lonnie, she retreated to the bar and got herself a drink. She had been at the bar for about twenty minutes when Bubba came and sat next to her, pulling at the collar of his tuxedo.

"Evening, Miss Collins," he said. "What are you doing back here? There are a lot of people interested in seeing you."

"I'm hiding," she said.

"Well, if you want to do that, you should get _behind_ the bar," said Bubba. "You're hardly inconspicuous, even sitting way back here."

She smiled.

"Would you like to dance?" Bubba asked.

"Sure, why not?"

Crystal took to the dance floor with Bubba. When the song was done, someone else asked her to dance, and for the next few songs, she shuffled back and forth between partners. Lonnie was watching from across the room. He couldn't hear anything that she was saying, but he thought she looked as if she were having a good time. Finally, she told the men she was tired and wanted something to eat, and she walked to the tables with Bubba and Parker. Here she finally came to face to face with Lonnie.

"You look good in a tux," she said.

"Thanks, but I can't wait to get out of it," Lonnie said.

"You want some help with that?" she asked. "Ooh, did I say that? I think I've had a little too much to drink. Excuse me while I go to the ladies' room. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"Are you out of your mind, son?" asked Bubba. "If you leave that field open for too long, there's plenty of guys that would be happy to step in."

"Looks that way," said Lonnie. "The question is whether or not _she_ would be happy with that."

"She's not having as good a time as you might think," said Parker. "She may look confident, even wreckless at times, but there's a scared little girl in there."

Crystal returned to the table a few minutes later. One of the guys from the catering service came to the table at the same time to set down a cake that he had been late in bringing.

"Didn't I see you outside my house last weekend?" Parker asked. "You were at a party thrown by my next door neighbors."

"I did work a party last weekend," said the man. "Are you the guy whose house caught fire?"

"Yeah, that was me," said Parker.

"I'm sorry about that," the man said.

"You know, I think I recognize you too," said Crystal. "I bumped into you in the store a few days ago. We had a conversation about smoking."

"And you had a cold. Right, I remember."

"How's your arm?" asked Crystal.

"Fine, thanks."

The man smiled at them all, told them to enjoy the food, and left the table.

"What's wrong with his arm?" asked Parker.

"He said he cut it on a broken window," Crystal replied.

Lonnie and Bubba looked at one another.

"Don't chefs sometimes use brandy in cooking?" Lonnie asked.

"Yes, they do," said Crystal. "They light things on fire with it, like plum pudding…"

"Like barns and houses," Lonnie said.

Lonnie left the table and went to find the man to take him in for questioning. He didn't see the guy anywhere, but he saw the head chef.

"Do you guys use brandy in any of your cooking?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, we do," said the chef. "It's a funny thing, a big part of our supply seems to have gone missing."

"Do you have a young guy working for you?" asked Lonnie. "Dark hair, a little shorter than I am, has some cuts on his arm…"  
"You must mean Jake," said the chef. "He hasn't been working for me long, but he's an excellent cook."

"Do you know where I can find him now?" Lonnie asked.

"He's here somewhere, but I couldn't say where exactly. You might try the kitchen."

Lonnie went back to the kitchen, and sure enough, there was Jake at the stove.

"Jake?" he said. "I think you should come with me down to the station. I have a few questions for you."

"What kind of questions?" asked Jake. "I'm working here."

"I'm sure your colleagues can handle it," said Lonnie.

Suddenly in a panic, Jake grabbed up a bottle of brandy and held it over the stove.

"I'll drop it," he said. "This whole place will go up in flames, and everybody in it."

Lonnie realized that the man was in crazed state now, that he was going to drop the bottle anyway; he knew he had to move quickly. He lunged, and he tackled Jake to the ground. The bottle crashed to the kitchen floor.

Bubba and Parker came in and helped to subdue Jake while they waited for some on-duty cops to come and arrest the man. Lonnie's first instinct was to go back to the station to question the suspect, but he decided to let others handle it this time because there was something else that he needed to do.

Crystal was standing by the kitchen doors, and he went and stood in front of her now.

"Every guy in this place has danced with you tonight except me," he said.

"And yet, you're the only one I wanted," she said.

"I'm afraid I smell like brandy now," said Lonnie.

"No more than I do," she replied.

They walked to the middle of the floor, and though Lonnie felt awkward dancing, he also felt proud to be holding this woman so close in front of everyone, to be the only man in the room that she cared for.

"I've made a decision about the house," she said. "As soon as Parker is able to move back into his house, I'm going to donate the estate."

Lonnie pulled back from her a bit.

"I'm going to look for a smaller place for myself," she said. "I want to donate the estate for use as an orphanage. I'm meeting with Harriet soon to discuss it."

Lonnie breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her.

"So you plan on sticking around," he said.

"Yep. You can't get rid of me this time."

"Good," he said, "because I don't want to."


End file.
